The US Supreme Court in its June 22nd ruling, has made it harder for the government to strip naturalized immigrants of their US citizenship.  In the case of Maslenjak v. United States, Divna Maslenjak, a naturalized citizen was deported because she had lied on her naturalization application, and her US citizenship was revoked.  The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2017, revived parts of President Trump’s executive order of a travel ban, by permitting the government to impose the 90-day ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries along with a 120-day hold on the refugee program in cases where there was no bona fide connection or strong ties between the traveler […]

The Indian government has extended the June 30, 2017 deadline for applying for conversion of Person of Indian origin (PIO) cards to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards until December 31, 2017.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in 2014 that the PIO and OCI cards will be merged with the objective to grant optimum benefits to the Indian […]

The U.S. Global Entry programme has rolled out for the Indian citizens on July 3, 2017 thereby allowing expedited clearance of pre-approved, low risk travellers. Besides Indian citizens, U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders) and citizens of Colombia, United Kingdom, Germany, Panama, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and Mexico are eligible for the […]

All U.S. employers that sponsor an H-1B foreign worker are required to maintain certain documents related to the worker in a Public Access File (“PAF”) which is to be kept either at the employee’s actual place of work or the employer’s principal place of business.  The PAF is an important element of employment related immigration compliance and […]

The USCIS has issued a revised version of Form 1-9, the use of which will become mandatory beginning September 18, 2017.  The Form I-9 is used by employers for verifying identity and employment authorization of newly hired employees.  The key change in the new form is the revision related to the list of acceptable documents […]

A foreign national entering the U.S. is issued a Form I-94 by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the port of entry.  The Form I-94 is essentially an arrival/departure record that states the date until which the foreign national can lawfully remain in the U.S., after which he or she is required to […]

The U.S. Department of State sent out a cable on July 12, 2017 to all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, instructing them to inform their host governments regarding new standards pertaining to U.S. travel and immigration.  These new standards that have been set out in the State Department’s cable apply to 191 countries and have […]

Biometric enrollment comprising fingerprints and facial image scans will be taken along with the visa applications at the VFS India Application Centers in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.  Applicants availing the electronic visas however, will be required to enroll their biometrics with the immigration authorities at the select ports of entry upon landing.  Process to Enroll Biometrics […]